We always want to make the experience for passengers as everyday as possible.'Īnd what's the secret to a safe landing at Innsbruck? Making something that's more difficult easy. My instructor was Captain Ross Lynch, an A320 Training Standards Captain who wasted no time in introducing me to the art of flying through Alpine valleys…Ĭaptain Ross Lynch (left) demonstrates a textbook 'go around' at Innsbruck as Ted (right) watches on The carrier invited me into one of its state-of-the-art Airbus A320 flight simulators at its Flight Training Centre near Heathrow Airport for lessons in landing and taking off at both Innsbruck and Madeira. I was given a rare opportunity by British Airways to find out. So just how hard a task is it in today's modern aircraft? The challenges associated with operating aircraft at both these airports mean that only captains can take off and land at them (and even then, only after extra training). And as with Innsbruck, planes can be buffeted by tempestuous gusts in the moments before they touch down. Planes landing and taking off at Madeira Airport, meanwhile, can't fly directly in and out because of rocky promontories at either end of the runway, so must bank in dramatically upon arrival and turn out to sea rapidly after taking to the air. Innsbruck Airport is surrounded by towering 9,000ft mountains and pilots sometimes have to cope with the 'Foehn wind', which can create strong turbulence near the runway. Innsbruck Airport in Austria and Madeira Airport are both regulars in lists of the world's most hair-raising landings for passenger aircraft.
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